The present invention concerns a pharmaceutical composition for use in regulating prostaglandins in mammalian living bodies, which comprises (a) as an active ingredient, a derivative of aminobenzoic acid represented by the following general formula: ##STR2## wherein R.sup.1 denotes one member selected from the group consisting of the residual groups formed by removing OH at 1(alpha)- or 1 (beta) position from arabinose, xylose, rhamnose, glucose, galactose, mannose and fructose, and R.sup.2 is a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group of one to four carbon atoms or a pharmaceutically acceptable metal and (b) a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent therefor.
A group of compounds generically called as prostaglandin (hereinafter referred to PG or PGs (the plural)) have come to be regarded as important recently, because of their various physiological functions in mammalian living bodies. However, since some of PGs have short half-lives or are not stable, there have been problems in utilizing PGs as pharmaceuticals.
There is a method for regulating PGs formed within the mammalian living bodies, for instance, the administration of aspirin (refer to Nature, No. 239: 33-34, 1972). However, aspirin is an inhibitor of cyclooxygenase which participates in the earlier stage of the metabolism of PGs, and accordingly, aspirin should be positioned as the blocker of all PGs. In other words, aspirin should be called as a regulator of the production of all PGs, and it has no activity of raising the production of a certain PG or certain PGs, and accordingly, there is naturally a limit in aspirin's activity as a regulator of PGs. In addition, aspirin has its side-effect of causing gastroenteric disorders in mammals, therefore, there has been a problem concerning the long term administration of aspirin.
The inventors of the present invention, after studying to find out a compound which is possible to regulate PGs without exhibiting side effects as far as possible, have found that a series of derivatives of aminobenzoic acid represented by the above-mentioned general formula (1) effectively regulate PGs, and have attained to the present invention.
The above-mentioned derivative of aminobenzoic acid for use as an active ingredient according to the present invention is a chemically and physically known compound. Inoue et al. disclosed the chemical synthesis of the above-mentioned compound (refer to J. Agr. Chem. Soc. Japan, Vol. 25, pp 59-63 and 291-293 (1951), and Chemical Abstracts Vol. 48, Columns 2001d and 2001i (1954)) and some physical properties of the compound (refer to J. Agr. Chem. Soc. Japan, Vol. 26, pp 329-331 (1952)), and Chemical Abstracts Vol. 48, Column 2003a (1954)).
However, in the above-mentioned literatures, nothing is disclosed concerning the physiological or pharmaceutical properties of the above-mentioned compound. Moreover, no report has been found hitherto found concerning the physiological and/or pharmacological properties of the compound represented by the general formula (1).